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your watering down from eight or ten operations 
(depending on how many plants you have) to one. 
Just water the tray of sand instead of each pot or 
saucer. The violets benefit by the higher humi- 
dity, too. The bugaboo of “disease” is often quot- 
ed as an argument against this method of culture, 
but it’s a little far-fetched, it seems to me. You 
might get run over if you cross the street, too. 
If you don’t have too many plants to take care 
of, a large tray will fill your need nicely. Or A 
might have an old table or tea wagon you'd like 
to use for your plants. Have a tinsmith make 
a tray to the exact dimensions (make a paper 
pattern if necessary) of the table. Have him make 
the side about 4 inches high. If you want to add 
a few years of life to the tray, coat the inside with 
asphalt paint. Fill it two or three inches deep with 
clean sand. 
How To Wash Sand: Fill bucket half full of 
sand. Fill bucket to top with water, ee it 
from the tap at full pressure so that the sand is 
violently churned around in the pail. Allow to 
stand several seconds so that the sand will settle to 
the bottom. Pour off dirty water. Repeat until 
water is clear. If the sand is treated with a dis- 
infectant such as Lysol or Clorox, this should be 
added to the first water, allowed to stand 15 
minutes, and then the sand washed until all trace 
of odor is gone. 
If you want to go ultra casual with your sand- 
box, you might like to be reminded that when 
you break off leaves, whether by design or by ac- 
cident, your propagating bed is right there. Just 
stick them down in the damp sand. You'll be us- 
ing liquid fertilizer in the sand for the pot plants 
anyway, and you might be surprised to see how 
your cuttings will flourish right there in the same 
tray with the parents. If the time comes when 
the cuttings crowd out the pot plants, that’s all 
right, too. Have another tray made. 
One word of caution: Equip yourself with a 
bulb syringe of some sort (“turkey basters” ideal 
for this purpose) to draw off excess water if your 
hands slips and you flood the tray accidentally. 
The sand should be moist, never wet. Pots should 
be set at least an inch deep in the sand—the 
deeper the better. 
Have had a few inquiries about caring for 
violets in a greenhouse. The only major difference 
is that you'll have to water more. You can expect 
the greater heat to dry them much faster than in 
your home. Outside of the watering, you haven’t 
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